Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday lambasted Republican senators for their letter warning Iran against a nuclear deal with President Barack Obama, Reuters reported.
Clinton said in response to the letter by saying the Republicans either were trying to help Tehran or harm the U.S. commander-in-chief.
The letter, written by freshman Senator Tom Cotton and signed by the Senate's entire Republican leadership as well as potential 2016 presidential contenders Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, warns Iran’s leaders that any nuclear deal they sign with Obama will not be valid after he leaves office in 2016.
Clinton, a likely Democratic presidential candidate, said the Obama administration is in the midst of intense negotiations for a diplomatic solution to close off Iran's pathway to a nuclear bomb and provide unprecedented access to its nuclear program.
"And one has to ask, what was the purpose of this letter?" Clinton said in an appearance at the United Nations, according to Reuters.
"There appear to be two logical answers. Either these senators were trying to be helpful to the Iranians or harmful to the commander-in-chief in the midst of high-stakes international diplomacy. Either answer does discredit to the letters' signatories," she added.
Similar remarks were made on Monday by Obama, who said, "I think it's somewhat ironic to see some members for Congress wanting to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran. It's an unusual coalition.”
Vice President Joe Biden denounced the letter as well, saying in a statement on Monday night the letter was "expressly designed to undercut a sitting president in the midst of sensitive international negotiations" and was "beneath the dignity" of the Senate.
"This letter, in the guise of a constitutional lesson, ignores two centuries of precedent and threatens to undermine the ability of any future American president, whether Democrat or Republican, to negotiate with other nations on behalf of the United States," Biden wrote.
Biden said he could not recall another instance in which senators wrote such a letter to advise another country, much less a longtime adversary.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, claimed that the senators are not educated on international policy and even the United States constitution itself.
"In our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy," Zarif said. "It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history."
"This indicates that like [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu, who considers peace as an existential threat, some are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content," he sniped.